Sitcom`s Publicity Has Somewhat Hidden Agenda

April 5, 1989|By TOM JICHA, Television Writer

ABC is talking out of two sides of its publicity mill in pumping tonight`s premiere of The Robert Guillaume Show.

On-air promotions, including several in the prized spots during the viewer- rich Oscar show last week, emphasize the star`s role as a marriage counselor who is a divorcee, a fertile if not terribly imaginative premise. The pilot, which airs at 9:30 p.m. on WPLG-Ch. 10 and WPBF-Ch. 25, suggests the same focus.

However, print material mailed to TV writers goes a bit further, and the additional information might be a commentary on ABC`s reluctance to be totally forthcoming about what the show really is. After explaining Guillaume`s profession, the press release continues, ``the situation grows more complicated when he realizes that he`s becoming attracted to the woman he hired as his secretary, who happens to be white.``

It`s not as if ABC is hoping no one will notice. The networks usually take their viewers for nitwits, but they don`t think that little of their audience`s intelligence. ABC just doesn`t want people to notice right away.

The idea is to break the situation gently, said Sy Rosen, one of three executive producers. Guillaume`s character, Edward, will meet Ann, the soon- to-be love of his life played by Wendy Phillips, in an employer-interviewee situation in the premiere. Their most intimate interaction is a handshake.

``The network felt it would be nice to have their first meeting uncomplicated by an immediate romance, but there is a hint of an attraction,`` Rosen said.

This doesn`t mean there is any queasiness on ABC`s part about presenting an interracial romance in a comedic setting, he said. ``I haven`t sensed anything like that throughout the development process.``

This also applies to the somewhat misleading teasers for the show, he added. ``I didn`t have anything to do with those, but I think they were looking for quick jokes to catch the audience`s attention.``

There will be no obfuscating once the show gets started, Rosen promised. ``The romance progesses quickly. In the second episode, she will have been his secretary for a while and he will be thinking about asking her out. By the end of the sixth show, their relationship will be fully developed.``

How fully developed?

``They will be affectionate toward each other, and he will kiss her on screen.``

Edward and Ann aren`t television`s first interracial couple in a sitcom. Rosen is a former producer of The Jeffersons, which featured a white man married to a black woman. However, they might have been the most platonic spouses this side of The Donna Reed Show.

There was more of a tender, loving, albeit non-romantic relationship between Guillaume`s Benson character on Soap and his employer, Jessica Tate, played by Katherine Helmond, now of Who`s the Boss?

Nevertheless, using an interracial romance as the hook for a series still is groundbreaking, although Rosen said that he doesn`t see it this way. ``My liberal consciousness tells me it`s no big deal.``

If the audience concurs, The Robert Guillaume Show could have a future. The star remains masterful at using a facial expression or double-take to milk the maximum from his material, which is fortunate, inasmuch as he doesn`t have much to work with in the pilot.

Phillips proves to be almost his equal at script-mining. Trying to bolster her resume, Ann boasts of typing 130 words per minute. When this piques Edward`s attention, she amends it slightly with, ``Well, not every minute. Some minutes I do 60.``

More importantly, there is an immediate chemistry between the two. If the audience is sophisticated enough to accept a black-white romance, these are the kind of characters the public roots for to get together.

To broaden the comedic base, Edward`s professional life provides the opportunity to introduce a rich parade of off-center characters, a la Barney Miller and Night Court.

There also is a potential interracial Brady Bunch for younger viewers, and a cliched, lovable-but-curmudgeonly grandfather.

Guillaume has two teen-agers, Pamela and William, and Ann has a 13-year-old daughter. The latter isn`t seen in the pilot, but it`s easy to picture Edward`s youngsters, played by Kelsey Scott and Marc Joseph, turning up fairly quickly on the cover of teen magazines.

Hank Rolike plays Edward`s father, Henry, who is obsessed with having his son get out and resume his social life. ``They don`t deliver (women), you know. It ain`t like pizza.``

Whatever the motivation, the same could be said of the premiere. After 30 minutes, you still won`t know what you`re getting.